Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Disappointed by Hand of Reckoning

Hand of Reckoning is a decent spell mechanically. The fact that it can crit is pretty funny, especially with Retribution, as it starts up Vengeance.

But the name really disappoints me. Back in April, I noted that Blizzard does a really good job with class names, and that I felt it added a lot to the flavor of the game. But in Wrath, it feels like Blizzard is phoning it in when it comes to paladin ability names. It bugs me because this was something Blizzard was so good at. It feels like Blizzard decided that names were too small of a detail to spend effort on.

Let's take a look at some new paladin ability names:

Divine Storm - Okay, this one is pretty awesome. "Divine" is being overused a bit (Divine Protection, Divine Shield, Divine Illumination, Divine Favor, Divine Intervention) but it just works here.

Divine Plea - Umm, yeah. This is just overuse.

Seal of Corruption - Corruption is a warlock word, and is really unsuitable for a paladin ability. I think Blizzard is trying to fit it in with the Blood Elves, but I thought the Blood Elves got redeemed. I think Blizzard could extend Vengeance to the Blood Elves without issue.

Seal of the Martyr - this is pretty good, though unnecessary. Seal of Blood can fit Alliance paladins too.

Hammer of the Righteous - like "Divine", "Righteous" is getting overused. But this one is okay.

Shield of Righteousness - This is just laziness, coming after Hammer of the Righteous.

Hand of Reckoning - This just does not make any sense. Hands are the old Blessings, short-term utility buffs cast on allies. This spell is not a Hand in any way, shape or form. And "Reckoning"? What does that have to do with taunts? This name feels like Blizzard picked a paladin word out of a hat, slapped the "Hand" prefix on it, and called it a day. I don't see how anyone who actually plays a paladin could sign off on this name.

I'm going to reiterate the suggestion that this ability be renamed to Rebuke. It's short, snappy, and has nice religious connotations which are perfect for the paladin class.

It also matches the taunts of the other tanking classes. Warriors Taunt opponents, bears Growl at them, death knights issue Dark Commands, and paladins would Rebuke them. All words with verbal connotations, but each infused with the separate unique flavor of their respective classes.

28 comments:

I agree as well. I'd almost prefer it if the shield/hammer thing was more closely tied, i.e. Shield of Righteousness, Hammer of Righteousness. We have two 'Hammer of' and one 'Hammer of the' ability, they really should be more consistent.

Nah, Mu'ru got taken by Kael for Sunwell. Then random stuff happened and the Blood Elves repented and A'dal forgave them and/or indicated that everything happened according to prophecy. There's a small event in Shattrath with Lady Liadrin.

Reckoning is already a paladin talent, so just using Reckoning by itself as a name wouldn't work. Chastise was a priest ability. Though is it any more? I think they took it out when they removed priest racials, so I think the name is open for use once again.

Personally, I prefer Seal of the Martyr to Seal of Blood. It sounds better for what the ability does. And surely they could have given BOTH sides Seal of the Martyr. Seal of Blood is just wrong for Draenei.

Dunno how blizz messed this one up. Seriously, it's hard to come up with a more head-scratchery name than Hand of Reckoning for a taunt. I mean, come on, even something like "Noodle Slap" would make more sense.

An entire human history of religious rhetoric and yet blizz uses like 6 words over and over again.

It's a shame blizz obviously doesn't read this blog. Maybe if you posted a topic on the official forums, with the same explanation? Then did a call here for your loyal readers to go post in agreement? Might actually get a bit of attention, and convert others to the cause as a bonus.

It's not just paladin abilities. Take Aimed Shot for example. Once a suiting name for a hard-hitting shot with the longest cast time out of all shots, less so for an instant on-the-fy shot with a healing debuff.

"Blood Elves got redeemed? Last I checked they still had a member of "the Light" holed off in Silvermoon feeding them holy power and magic."

Rohan summed it up pretty well. In greater detail, after Kael'thas' defeat at Tempest Keep, he returned to Azeroth, stole M'uru from Silvermoon, and then holed up in the Sunwell. Lady Liadrin (the leader of the Blood Knights), enraged at this, realizes how evil Kael'thas truly was and came to Shattrath to ask A'Dal's forgiveness - and to warn him of Kael'thas' intent. It was then that A'Dal revealed that all had gone as Velen has foretold, and he forgave Lady Liadrin and the Blood Elves, granting them the power of the Light as he did the Draenei.

Also, some extra information: After you defeat Kil'Jaeden in the Sunwell, Lady Liadrin and Velen show up. Using the heart of M'uru, Velen reignites the Sunwell and restores it to the Blood Elves.

How about 'Sanctified vexation' or something like that. It is disappointing that no effort at all has been put into the naming of this spell. In fact, when I first read the patch notes, I ignored the new spell entirely because usually 'Hand of...' spells were rubbish!